Karlos Dansby: I expect to be an Arizona Cardinal next year

Karlos Dansby is an NFL free agent who is coming off an incredibly successful season with the Arizona Cardinals.

The Cardinals, presumably, would like to bring him back.

And Dansby would like to be back. In fact, Dansby thinks he will be back.

“I definitely expect to be an Arizona Cardinal next year,” he told Sirius XM’s NFL Radio. “We don’t have long here. Eventually we’ll get to talking and try to hammer something out and see how it goes.”

Dansby, 32, signed with the Cardinals last March after being cut by the Miami Dolphins. The first six seasons of his NFL career were spent in Arizona after being drafted, so it was a bit of a homecoming for the linebacker.

Yet his 2013 was significantly better than anything he had done before.

Dansby set career highs in tackles (122), interceptions (4) and passes defensed (19), while also tallying 6.5 sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He returned two of the interceptions for touchdowns, by the way.

But for the Cardinals, as was the case in 2010 when they saw Dansby leave for a bigger contract in Miami, the question really comes down to how much the veteran is worth.

If he plays like he did last season, Dansby is worth quite a bit. And he expects to be even better next season.

“I definitely want to dominate in a winning program, definitely want to be in a winning situation at this point in my career,” he said of his goals. “I’m having fun, man, I’m just getting started. I’ve got some things up my sleeve I’m going to be doing this offseason to really solidify myself as the best linebacker in the league, period. I let it slip through my fingers last season, I won’t let it happen again.”